12 Fantastic Facts About the Immune System

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It is quite an interesting read, so I recommend it. Your concise summary of not only the science but the important economic and social impacts of banning genetically modified foods will hopefully lead to a more rational discussion. Here's my advice about how much water to drink: It is easy to suspect the authour was well pain by Monsanto et al for this imbalanced piece of bad journalism. It even improves sensitivity to insulin, similarly to how exercise does, by allowing more glucose to enter cells. I take one with every meal. As the diet is so restrictive I have been able to identify additional foods that trigger my symptoms such as butter and cheese I have lactose free cheese now and soya spreads instead of butter , eggs, potatoes I can only tolerate small quantities and oats.

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Though you can live without the spleen , an organ that lies between stomach and diaphragm, it's better to hang onto it for your immune function. According to Adriana Medina, a doctor who specializes in hematology and oncology at the Alvin and Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, your spleen is "one big lymph node" that makes new white blood cells, and cleans out old blood cells from the body.

It's also a place where immune cells congregate. While immune cells may congregate more in lymph nodes than elsewhere, "every tissue in your body has immune cells stationed in it or circulating through it, constantly roving for signs of attack," Vance explains. These cells also circulate through the blood.

The reason for their widespread presence is that there are thousands of different pathogens that might infect us, from bacteria to viruses to parasites. From an evolutionary perspective, humans' high sociability may have less to do with our bigger brains, and more to do with our immune system's exposure to a greater number of bacteria and other pathogens.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have theorized that interferon gamma IG , the immune cytokine that helps the immune system fight invaders, was linked to social behavior, which is one of the ways we become exposed to pathogens.

In mice, they found IG acted as a kind of brake to the brain's prefrontal cortex, essentially stopping aberrant hyperactivity that can cause negative changes in social behavior. When they blocked the IG molecule, the mice's prefrontal cortexes became hyperactive, resulting in less sociability. When they restored the function, the mice's brains returned to normal, as did their social behavior.

The appendix gets a bad rap as a vestigial organ that does nothing but occasionally go septic and create a need for immediate surgery.

But the appendix may help keep your gut in good shape. According to Gabrielle Belz, professor of molecular immunology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, research by Duke University's Randal Bollinger and Bill Parker suggests the appendix houses symbiotic bacteria that are important for overall gut health—especially after infections wipe out the gut's good microbes.

Special immune cells known as innate lymphoid cells ILCs in the appendix may help to repopulate the gut with healthy bacteria and put the gut back on track to recovery. Researchers at the University of Chicago noticed that one group of mice in their lab had a stronger response to a cancer treatment than other mice.

They eventually traced the reason to a strain of bacteria— Bifidobacterium —in the mice's guts that boosted the animals' immune system to such a degree they could compare it to anti-cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors , which keep the immune system from overreacting. To test their theory, they transferred fecal matter from the robust mice to the stomachs of less immune-strengthened mice, with positive results: The treated mice mounted stronger immune responses and tumor growth slowed.

When they compared the bacterial transfer effects with the effects of a checkpoint inhibitor drug, they found that the bacteria treatment was just as effective. The researchers believe that, with further study, the same effect could be seen in human cancer patients.

Aggressive pediatric tumors are difficult to treat due to the toxicity of chemotherapy, but some researchers are hoping to develop effective treatments without the harmful side effects.

Stanford researchers designed a study around a recently discovered molecule known as CD47, a protein expressed on the surface of all cells, and how it interacts with macrophages, white blood cells that kill abnormal cells. CD47 sends the immune system's macrophages a "don't eat me" signal.

Cancer cells fool the immune system into not destroying them by secreting high amounts of CD When Cheshier and his team blocked the CD47 signals on cancer cells, the macrophages could identify the cancer cells and eat them, without toxic side effects to healthy cells.

The treatment successfully shrank all five of the common pediatric tumors, without the nasty side effects of chemotherapy. In those with type 1 diabetes, the body attacks its own pancreatic cells, interrupting its normal ability to produce insulin in response to glucose.

In a paper, researchers at MIT, in collaboration with Boston's Children's Hospital, successfully designed a new material that allows them to encapsulate and transplant healthy pancreatic "islet" cells into diabetic mice without triggering an immune response.

Made from seaweed, the substance is benign enough that the body doesn't react to it, and porous enough to allow the islet cells to be placed in the abdomen of mice, where they restore the pancreatic function.

Senior author Daniel Anderson, an associate professor at MIT, said in a statement that this approach "has the potential to provide [human] diabetics with a new pancreas that is protected from the immune system, which would allow them to control their blood sugar without taking drugs. Over the last few years, research in the field of immunology has focused on developing cancer treatments using immunotherapy. This method engineers the patient's own normal cells to attack the cancer cells.

Vance says the technique could be used for many more conditions. Like puberty and your first heartbreak, the painful process of getting your wisdom teeth removed is one of those cumbersome coming-of-age rituals that many people are forced to endure.

But why do we have wisdom teeth when they seem to only cause problems? Read on to find out more about the humble third molar—the last tooth many of us get as adults.

You subsist largely on raw meat , roots, and leaves. That was where your third molars—also known as wisdom teeth—came in. Today, our palates are a little more refined, and we prefer softer foods think avocado toast and smoothies.

Plus, modern cooking tools have put our wisdom teeth out of business. When that happened, it changed the shape of the braincase the back part of the skull and its position relative to the dental arcade rows of teeth. The dental arcade shortened, and suddenly there was no longer enough room for third molars. And since the genes that determine the makeup of our teeth evolve separately from those that control brain development, humans were stuck dealing with the consequences of a crowded mouth, according to Live Science.

On the bright side, scientists say evolution may eventually take care of the problem, meaning that people in the future would not develop wisdom teeth. According to McCormick, genetic factors like jaw size might determine the number of wisdom teeth that a person has.

Your lineage may also have something to do with it. Practically no Aboriginal Tasmanians have third molars, but almost percent of indigenous Mexicans have at least one wisdom tooth. African Americans and Asian Americans are also more likely than people of European descent to have fewer than four wisdom teeth. This variation can be attributed to a random genetic mutation that arose thousands of years ago, thereby preventing the formation of wisdom teeth. This mutation is more prevalent in certain populations.

The roots are the part of the tooth that form first, and then push the bud the part that's visible in your mouth through your gums. While wisdom teeth typically have two or three roots, they can have more.

Ron Good, an orthodontist in southwestern Pennsylvania who runs a family practice with his brother, Dr. Ron tells Mental Floss. According to Guinness World Records, the oldest person to ever grow a wisdom tooth was 94 years old. McCormick says there's a wide variation in ages when eruption occurs; he once had a year-old patient with dentures whose wisdom tooth had started to erupt poke through the gums. The Arena of Life: The Dynamics of Ecology.

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Therefore, the results are not conclusive. Professionals can, and often do, come to different conclusions when reviewing scientific data. None of these statements have been reviewed by the FDA.

Absorption Mineral absorption is affected by many factors including the chemical form, structural form, existence or lack of protein chaperones, health, dietary factors, and even medications. Chemical Differences The basic difference between minerals found in foods and those found in industrial mineral salts is chemical. Boric acid is the rock known as sassolite. It is used in weatherproofing wood, fireproofing fabrics, and as an insecticide [15]. Calcium ascorbate is calcium carbonate processed with ascorbic acid and acetone.

It is a manufactured product used in 'non-food' supplements [15]. Calcium carbonate is the rock known as limestone or chalk. It is used in the manufacture of paint, rubber, plastics, ceramics, putty, polishes, insecticides, and inks.

It is also used in fillers for adhesives, matches, pencils, crayons, linoleum, insulating compounds, and welding rods [15]. Calcium chloride is calcium carbonate and chlorine and is the by product of the Solvay ammonia-soda process. It is used for antifreeze, refrigeration, fire extinguisher fluids, and to preserve wood and stone. Other uses include cement, coagulant in rubber manufacturing, controlling dust on unpaved roads, freezeproofing of coal, and increasing traction in tires [15].

Calcium citrate is calcium carbonate processed with lactic and citric acids. It is used to alter the baking properties of flour [15]. Calcium gluconate is calcium carbonate processed with gluconic acid, which is used in cleaning compounds. It is used in sewage purification and to prevent coffee powders from caking [15]. Calcium glycerophosphate is calcium carbonate processed with dl-alpha-glycerophosphates. It is used in dentifrices, baking powder, and as a food stabilizer [15].

Calcium hydroxyapatite is crushed bone and bone marrow. It is used as a fertilizer [16]. Calcium iodide is calcium carbonate processed with iodine. It is an expectorant [15]. Calcium lactate is calcium carbonate processed with lactic acid. It is used as a dentifrice and as a preservative [15].

Calcium oxide is basically burnt calcium carbonate. It is used in bricks, plaster, mortar, stucco, and other building materials. It is also used in insecticides and fungicides [15]. Calcium phosphate, tribasic is the rock known as oxydapatit or bone ash.

It is used in the manufacture of fertilizers, milk-glass, polishing powders, porcelain, pottery, and enamels [15]. Calcium stearate is an octodecanoic calcium salt and can be extracted from animal fat. It is used for waterproofing fabrics and in the production of cement, stucco, and explosives [15]. Chromium chloride is a preparation of hexahydrates. It is used as a corrosion inhibitor and waterproofing agent [15]. Chromium picolinate is chromium III processed with picolinic acid.

Picolinic acid is used in herbicides [17]. Copper aspartate is made "from the reaction between cupric carbonate and aspartic acid from chemical synthesis " [18]. It is a manufactured product used in 'non-food' supplements [18].

Copper cupric carbonate is the rock known as malachite. It is used as a paint and varnish pigment, plus as a seed fungicide [15]. Copper gluconate is copper carbonate processed with gluconic acid. It is used as a deodorant [19]. Copper cupric glycinate is a copper salt processed with glycine. It is used in photometric analysis for copper [15]. Copper sulfate is copper combined with sulfuric acid. It is used as a drain cleaner and to induce vomiting; it is considered as hazardous heavy metal by the City of Lubbock, Texas that "can contaminate our water supply" [20].

Dicalcium phosphate is the rock known as monetite, but can be made from calcium chloride and sodium phosphate. It is used in 'non-food' supplements [18]. Ferric pyrophosphate is an iron rock processed with pyrophosphoric acid. It is used in fireproofing and in pigments [15]. Ferrous lactate is a preparation from isotonic solutions. It is used in 'non-food' supplements [15]. Ferrous sulfate is the rock known as melanterite. It is used as a fertilizer, wood preservative, weed-killer, and pesticide [15].

Magnesium carbonate is the rock known as magnesite. It is used as an antacid, laxative, and cathartic [15]. Magnesium chloride is magnesium ammonium chloride processed with hydrochloric acid. It fireproofs wood, carbonizes wool, and is used as a glue additive and cement ingredient [15].

Magnesium citrate is magnesium carbonate processed with acids. It is used as a cathartic [15]. Magnesium glycinate is a magnesium salt processed with glycine. Magnesium oxide is normally burnt magnesium carbonate. It is used as an antacid and laxative [15]. Manganese carbonate is the rock known as rhodochrosite.

It is used as a whitener and to dry varnish [15]. Manganese gluconate is manganese carbonate or dioxide processed with gluconic acid. It is a manufactured item used in 'non-food' supplements [15]. Manganese sulfate is made "from the reaction between manganese oxide and sulfuric acid" [18].

It is used in dyeing and varnish production [15]. Molybdenum ascorbate is molybdenite processed with ascorbic acid and acetone. It is a manufactured item used 'non-food' supplements [21]. Molybdenum disulfide is the rock known as molybdenite. It is used as a lubricant additive and hydrogenation catalyst [15]. Potassium chloride is a crystalline substance consisting of potassium and chlorine.

It is used in photography [15]. It is used to make photographic emulsions and as an expectorant [15]. Potassium sulfate appears to be prepared from the elements in liquid ammonia.

It is used as a fertilizer and to make glass [15]. Selenium oxide is made by burning selenium in oxygen or by oxidizing selenium with nitric acid. It is used as a reagent for alkaloids or as an oxidizing agent [15].

Seleniomethionine is a selenium analog of methionine. It is used as a radioactive imaging agent [15]. Silicon dioxide is the rock known as agate. It is used to manufacture glass, abrasives, ceramics, enamels, and as a defoaming agent [15].

Vanadyl sulfate is a blue crystal powder known as vanadium oxysulfate. It is used as a dihydrate in dyeing and printing textiles, to make glass, and to add blue and green glazes to pottery [15]. Zinc acetate is made from zinc nitrate and acetic anhydride. It is used to induce vomiting [15]. Zinc carbonate is the rock known as smithsonite or zincspar. It is used to manufacture rubber [15]. Zinc chloride is a combination of zinc and chlorine. It is used as an embalming material [15].

Zinc citrate is smithsonite processed with citric acid. It is used in the manufacture of some toothpaste [15]. Zinc gluconate is a zinc rock processed with gluconic acid. Gluconic acid is used in many cleaning compounds [15]. Zinc lactate is smithsonite processed with lactic acid. Lactic acid lactate is used as a solvent [15].

Zinc monomethionine is a zinc salt with methionine. Zinc orotate is a zinc rock processed with orotic acid. Orotic acid is a uricosuric promotes uric acid excretion [15]. Zinc oxide is the rock known as zincite. It is used as a pigment for white paint and as part of quick-drying cement [15]. Zinc phosphate is the rock known as hopeite. It is used in dental cements [15]. Zinc picolinate is a zinc rock processed with picolinic acid.